Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Why Cycling

Reprint from my Blog (http://theamazingshrinkingman.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-cycling.html), published in April, last year: Photos and links mentioned are at my blog.

Why Cycling

What is this attraction I have to a contraption made up of tubing, with two wheels made basically of tensioned wire and an alloy hoop? I suppose, first and foremost, it's probably responsible for a large part of the progress I've made in the last 13 months. A bit over a year ago, I was basically just about dead! I had reached the end of what my body could handle, physically at least. Due to a metabolic disorder called Empty Sella Syndrome, I had gained a truly amazing amount of weight and was to the point that I required supplementary oxygen to function. If you've been following my blog, this will be old information if you started reading me when I started. The link above is to a medical article on Kallman's Syndrome, a symptomatic offshoot of Empty Sella. This may help you understand a bit more. I warn you, though, the writing style is, shall we say, a bit obtuse!

The Photos are from my first multimile ride last year and from when I did my short weekend tour in March


At the peak

At my peak weight, I had blown up to 581 pounds, and was literally unable to walk more than 50 feet without crushing chest pain and shortness of breath. I had to use a wheelchair to go any further. I underwent bariatric surgery to alleviate the weighht problem, which has been successful. I am now down to 241 pounds 13 months later. That's right, 241, I weighed today! There were risks to the surgery, but I was trading a life in hell for a chance. That officially gives me a 340 pound weight loss in 13 months and a fraction!


Why Cycling?

This brings me to the point of this article, why cycling? Well, that's both a simple and complex question. The simple part, first, I guess. My knees had so much damage from my weight that it plain hurt to walk! Imagine if you will, weighing 500 pounds and having your knees popping and grating every time you took a step. Imagine having your knees feel like there was sand in the joint grinding away each time you walked. Kind of hard to do, right? That's why I resumed cycling, aside from the fact that cycling also burns more calories than walking. It's low impact, and doesn't stress the knees so much if you have a good fit on your bike. I'm not saying it was easy to get started either. First, I had to figure out how to carry oxygen safely. My provider, Lincare provided me with a backpack sleeve to use while riding. This turned out to be just what I needed.

When I resumed cycling, after a 25 year absence, it was like an old friend came to stay, I rediscovered my passion for it. My family thinks I'm a tad bit fanatical, but my returning health tells me that while I may be a fanatic, this is a good thing. I am now 340 pounds lighter, as I said, off the oxygen completely, off the cardiac and blood pressure medicine, and feeling pretty good. It has required a commitment to very hard work to get as far as I have, and it isn't easy! If you have an obesity problem, believe me I know how it feels, been there done that and got the size 8X T-Shirts to prove it. The problem can be beat though, with a commitment to changing your lifestyle. Diets don't really work, for the most part, long term.

When you diet and cut the calories too far, your body goes into famine mode and starts conserving fat. You start burning protein instead, and this isn't really a good thing. Keep the protein intake to about 1 gram per kilo (2.2 pounds) body mass to prevent this, and keep the fluid intake high! Without enough calories and water, the fat burning machine in your body doesn't work properly.

When you exercise, like on a long ride, follow these guidelines:

* Drink about every ten minutes, whether you are thirsty or not
* Consume about 300 calories (kcals)/ hr to prevent the "Bonk" (This is when your blood sugars drop and you start feeling really crappy, and often you can't even think straight

Carry some Gatorade or other sport drink to keep your electrolytes balanced. You need sodium and potassium for proper muscle and heart action.


How do I Burn the Fat?

The Answer is actually quite simple! Increase your activity, there's a whole world out there for you to experience. Don't waste your life sitting in front of the TV eating junk!

The bottom line is that for me, cycling has truly helped me get much thinner. I would likely have gotten here anyway after the surgery, but I wouldn't be as strong and I wouldn't have had as much fun! Each gain in endurance and new mileage milestone has given me a sense of both wonder and accomplishment. The feeling of triumph after my first tour this year was just incredible. All I can say is get on your bike and ride! The rewards are unimagineable

You the MAN Tom! You the MAN!!

Were you able to dump some of your diabetic medicines as well? My father lost some weight recently and he was able to stop taking two of his pills.

I don't think diabetes can be reversed, but can't you get to a point where you control it by diet and exercise?

Were you able to dump some of your diabetic medicines as well? My father lost some weight recently and he was able to stop taking two of his pills.

I don't think diabetes can be reversed, but can't you get to a point where you control it by diet and exercise?
Oh yeah, most definitely. I am off medication completely.....including for diabetes......:D

100% au naturale!:p

When you diet and cut the calories too far, your body goes into famine mode and starts conserving fat. You start burning protein instead, and this isn't really a good thing. Keep the protein intake to about 1 gram per kilo (2.2 pounds) body mass to prevent this, and keep the fluid intake high! Without enough calories and water, the fat burning machine in your body doesn't work properly.
How does protein aid the fat-burning "machine"? At my weight, I need about ~120g of protein (per day, I'm assuming?). Up to this point, I haven't been concerned with whether I was burning fat or protein, so long as there was weight-loss. As a former football player, I have alot of muscle mass I can lose (0% bodyfat is around 200lbs for me). But...

I've been stuck at this plateau in my weight loss for about a good month+ now and am really frustrated--to the point where I want to give up watching my diet. I can't seem to break through unless I really lower my caloric input to around 1,500cals/day. Then I start bonking while riding, resume my regular eating and it goes right backup. I ride a good 200 miles per week over 5-6 days. I attack hills/mountains with a vengence, climbing for 10+ minutes at 90-95% HRmax in an attempt to do intervals. My average speed is up to around 18-19 mph as I ride with faster and faster groups/riders. Assuming the calculators are somewhat accurate (they aren't...but let's play along here), I burn 2,000+ cals per average ride. Last Wednesday, a phenomenal 8,000+cals burned on one ride alone. Add in probably another 2,500cals for daily BMR and...Still no weight loss. Any suggestions?

I totally, completely hear ya. I hit that plateau before winter and regressed a bit so I'm interested in the responses.

How does protein aid the fat-burning "machine"? At my weight, I need about ~120g of protein (per day, I'm assuming?). Up to this point, I haven't been concerned with whether I was burning fat or protein, so long as there was weight-loss. As a former football player, I have alot of muscle mass I can lose (0% bodyfat is around 200lbs for me). But...

I've been stuck at this plateau in my weight loss for about a good month+ now and am really frustrated--to the point where I want to give up watching my diet. I can't seem to break through unless I really lower my caloric input to around 1,500cals/day. Then I start bonking while riding, resume my regular eating and it goes right backup. I ride a good 200 miles per week over 5-6 days. I attack hills/mountains with a vengence, climbing for 10+ minutes at 90-95% HRmax in an attempt to do intervals. My average speed is up to around 18-19 mph as I ride with faster and faster groups/riders. Assuming the calculators are somewhat accurate (they aren't...but let's play along here), I burn 2,000+ cals per average ride. Last Wednesday, a phenomenal 8,000+cals burned on one ride alone. Add in probably another 2,500cals for daily BMR and...Still no weight loss. Any suggestions?
Protein intake aid the machine by making sufficient protein available to prevent cannibalization of muscle mass while burning the fat.Your body will go after the muscle mass first because it likes efficiency as far as energy consumed vs energy released. The body stores fat for famine and since fat is a low energy requirement to maintain, and muscle is high energy to maintain, both in cost of nutritional intake vs energy produced, as well as aerobically high in requirement vs far not needing a lit of Oxygen relative to the same mass of muscle, it gets used before the fat stores. If there's protein available though, the muscle mass will replenish itself and the muscle/fat burn ration remains constant with a greater supple of protein to replenish than fat to replenish the fatty tissue. These are off the top of my head numbers but the ratios will work out if you reduce the fat intake to say 50% of body needs to maintain fat and equal protein to maintain muscle, you'll get Prot= 1:1 and fat = 1:2. The end result is that you burn off 2 pounds of tissue for energy requirements, retaining 1.5 and you get the resultant equation

This is because both get burned muscle first then fat, but they both yield equal energy release (5X that of sugars).

(1/1+1/2)/2=X
(3/2)/2=X
2[(3/2)/2]=2(X)
X=3/2 lbs muscle/fat mass retained out of the 2

or 1.5 pounds retained out of the 2 pounds muscle/fat with the reduced mass being fat.

Additional data you need is to maintain enough carbs to maintain your glycogen in the muscles and glucose for your brain, but just barely enough. The thinking problems that occur when you bonk, is because the brain can ONLY burn glucose, and the body will reduce the glucose in the blood to maintain the livers ability and the muscles ability to replenish and store Glycogen. The caloric burn in exercise is the energy burned specifically for that exercise. The trick is to balance the sugars taken in to be only enough to stave off the bonk, but not so much you fall out of the protein/fat metabolism.

Brain burns Glucose
Muscles burn Glycogen

The trick is to balance the sugars taken in to be only enough to stave off the bonk, but not so much you fall out of the protein/fat metabolism.
And of course you can tell me exactly what this balance is, right? :D And while you're at it, write up a diet plan that takes into consideration all of my peculiar likes & dislikes, a training regimen that accounts for my work schedule, school assignments, and familial obligations, and still allows me to have fun. Right? Right!? :D :D

And of course you can tell me exactly what this balance is, right? :D And while you're at it, write up a diet plan that takes into consideration all of my peculiar likes & dislikes, a training regimen that accounts for my work schedule, school assignments, and familial obligations, and still allows me to have fun. Right? Right!? :D :D
Well, I could do a close approximation, based off of bloodwork results as to fasting blood sugars vs blood sugar after exertion, current protein levels and blood triglyceride levels. Add in spentamino acid residue in the urine and I can get a close approximation as to exactly what rate your body metabolizes protein, and the fat burn ratio will be very close to the protein burn rate. The blood sugar depletion rate will tell me how fast you burn off the sugars. I could add in the level of insulin presence as well after an hr exertion...........

Or we can go with the average consumption rate of 3500 kcals= 1 pound of fat or 1 pound of protein and adjust intake according to activity levels so that you are running about 500 kcals below what you need to maintain your current body mass and take in an average of 1 gram protein /kg body mass when sedentary and 1.5 or more/kg when active, fat about 50% of that and sufficient carbs based off of exertion to barely maintain the blood sugars at 72-110 mg per 100cc of blood. As to individual tastes, possibly not, it would depend on exactly what your tastes are.......if you like a diet of 2 big macs and supersize fries.
continuously, for example, then nope, sorry Charlie!~:p Also, you'd need to keep well hydrated as this diet will process a lot of protein metabolism residue through the kidney's. Say, a minimum of 64 oz a day when sedentary and add accordingly for activity level.

Clear as mud?

Clear as mud? Exactly. :)


BTW, like the new avatar.

As a member of the uber-clyde class I can relate to some of Tom's discomforts. With damage to one knee extended walking aggravates it. Being of limited financial assets I was unable to purchase a bike for me so I built one. It's not the lightest thing in the world but I'm able to get the exercise I need. The gearing is not completely right at this point but I'm riding. I know the process of doctors telling you to diet and exercise and I agree. My situation was that after I began my riding and was going at least 5 to 6 days a week I noticed the eating better came naturally. Over the past few weeks I have begun riding more consistently, because of the time change. I have already notice an improvement. I have liphidema in my leg with the knee problems. Walking is great because it pushes the fluid out of the muscle tissue. I now get the same result with riding. One of the nice things about my bike is that being a recumbent and the position I sit in I am getting a workout of my stomach muscles. I am on the journey to lose my weight and go completely off of my blood sugar and blood pressure medication.

As a member of the uber-clyde class I can relate to some of Tom's discomforts. With damage to one knee extended walking aggravates it. Being of limited financial assets I was unable to purchase a bike for me so I built one. It's not the lightest thing in the world but I'm able to get the exercise I need. The gearing is not completely right at this point but I'm riding. I know the process of doctors telling you to diet and exercise and I agree. My situation was that after I began my riding and was going at least 5 to 6 days a week I noticed the eating better came naturally. Over the past few weeks I have begun riding more consistently, because of the time change. I have already notice an improvement. I have liphidema in my leg with the knee problems. Walking is great because it pushes the fluid out of the muscle tissue. I now get the same result with riding. One of the nice things about my bike is that being a recumbent and the position I sit in I am getting a workout of my stomach muscles. I am on the journey to lose my weight and go completely off of my blood sugar and blood pressure medication.
Welcome to the journey, Moose! It's quite satisfying!

As a member of the uber-clyde class I can relate to some of Tom's discomforts. With damage to one knee extended walking aggravates it. Being of limited financial assets I was unable to purchase a bike for me so I built one. It's not the lightest thing in the world but I'm able to get the exercise I need. The gearing is not completely right at this point but I'm riding. I know the process of doctors telling you to diet and exercise and I agree. My situation was that after I began my riding and was going at least 5 to 6 days a week I noticed the eating better came naturally. Over the past few weeks I have begun riding more consistently, because of the time change. I have already notice an improvement. I have liphidema in my leg with the knee problems. Walking is great because it pushes the fluid out of the muscle tissue. I now get the same result with riding. One of the nice things about my bike is that being a recumbent and the position I sit in I am getting a workout of my stomach muscles. I am on the journey to lose my weight and go completely off of my blood sugar and blood pressure medication.

Congrats for going for it....... Stay with it!!!!